DESCRIPTION
Dan “Dry Dock” Shockley served in the US Navy for 22 years. Upon his retirement, he still went in for annual checkups with the Veterans Healthcare System. Because he was 50 years old, it was suggested he go in for a colonoscopy. When he checked in, he saw he had lost 14 pounds since his previous checkup. That’s why doctors suggested that in addition to a colonoscopy that he undergo an esophagogastroduodenoscopy to ascertain the reason for the weight loss. The results revealed 100 polyps in his colon, rectum and anus. One of the polyps happened to be a large mass creating an 80 percent blockage in his ascending colon. Next up was a germline DNA test to rule out a mutation referred to as familial adenomatous polyposis, or FAP. Dan was then told he would have to undergo surgery to remove his colon, rectum and anus. In the meantime, he learned he a mutation that is more rare than FAP. It was called Attenuated FAP, usually diagnosed in men between the ages of 50 and 55.
Dan Shockley learned that under best practices is to have a proctocolectomy with an ileotomy surgery to make sure that all 100 polyps were removed. The surgery was a six-hour procedure, including a nine-inch incision in his abdominal area with 35 staples. He was an inpatient at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. As a result of the surgery, he no longer had a colon, rectum and anus, and the small end of his intestine was surgically attached to the abdominal area below his beltline on the right side of his abdominal area, and he was fitted with an ostomy bag.
After a major surgery like this, he was wiped out for several weeks. Dan went on short term disability for nine weeks before going back to his two jobs. He went back to work as if nothing happened, and continues to work in this manner to this day.
Dan Shockley approaches life with a self-created mantra of “Always Forge Ahead with a Purpose.” Inspired by his military service, this approach takes a negative and turns it into a positive.
It is not easy to maintain a colostomy bag, but, taught by a nurse, Dan became self-sufficent with the bag only a few days after he was discharged from the hospital. He says looks at his diagnosis as a challenge, not an obstacle.
By way of advice, Dan “Dry Dock” Shockley tells anyone diagnosed with cancer to maintain a positive attitude. He also suggests one maintain faith, having hope in something one is not able to see. Most of all, Dan urges one on a cancer journey to Forge Ahead with a Purpose.
Additional Resources:
Colon Cancer Prevention Project Louisville, Kentucky
United Ostomy Associations of America
Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse Society
TRANSCRIPT
Bruce Morton: Greetings, and welcome to the Cancer Interviews podcast. I am your host, Bruce Morton. You know, one’s cancer journey doesn’t end once it has appeared one has survived cancer. Our guest on this segment not only survived colorectal cancer, but he also made sure cancer would not get in the way of his pursuit of happiness. He is Dan “Dry Dock” Shockley of Galt, California, who will share with you his cancer story and how he manages to live life to the fullest. So, now let’s get started, and Dan, welcome to Cancer Interviews.
Dan Shockley: Hey, Bruce, how are you doing? Thanks very much for the opportunity to share my journey on your platform. This is quite an honor.
BM: I have to ask. Not a lot of people walk around with a nickname like “Dry Dock.” How did you get your nickname?
DS: Well, that’s an interesting story. My Navy career lasted 22 wonderful years. I was assigned to seven different ships and two of those ships, we spent 12 to 14 months in dry dock, and it just seemed to be a nickname that appeared to be fitting to me to my journey because I am not on the ocean anymore, I am a landlubber, so I look at it like I am in a permanent dry dock.
BM: For one who is serving in the Navy, and thank for your service, how is serving different when you are on dry dock?
DS: You still have your duties and responsibilities, but sailors, we are meant to be on ships, and ships are meant to be at sea. We do have to put ships in dry dock because they need renovations and upgrades of different types of equipment, so it is down time for us, but it is very busy for us, very long hours. At sea there are very long hours, but with dry dock, a different mindset.
BM: One thing we like to do with our guest at the outset of these interviews is find out a little bit more about them. We know that you have served in the Navy, but we would like to know where you grew up, how you got into the service, maybe what you are doing in addition to being in the Navy, what you like to do for your leisure time, stuff like that.
DS: I was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia back in 1960. My dad worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. They merged to become Penn Central and Conrail, and every time they merged, my dad managed to get himself promoted. He worked in the auditing department, and he was the chief investigator of the auditing department. It was his responsibility to check every train station between Philly and Chicago, so we eventually moved to the Chicago suburbs, then back to Delaware, then back to the Chicago area. I ended up graduating high school in Illinois and two years after that I joined the Navy. I love to travel in the eastern part of the US. I also had a fascination for the world’s oceans. In school, we did projects pertaining to the Explorers, and I wondered what it would be like to be out on the ocean going to uncharted territories. That was a thought I had, and it came to fruition when I joined the Navy. My first ship was home-ported in Charleston, South Carolina, and our area of responsibility was the Caribbean. Rough duty, that was. We traveled down to the Caribbean for the first three years I was on the ship. We hit Guantanamo Bay, Jamaica, Bahamas and lots of ports in Florida. I enjoyed being around the water at that time and listening to music and just enjoying life, learning the customs, cultures and courtesies. Through my career I had the opportunity to visit 22 different countries, so that is a lot of different cultures to take in. I love the food from the different cultures.
BM: If one wants to serve their country, obviously, they have a bunch of options. You chose the Navy. Looking back, are you glad that the Navy is the branch of the service you chose?
DS: Oh, absolutely. It was the best, one of the best decisions I ever made. I just wanted to learn a skillset and be close to the water. I had always wondered what it would be like to make a port visit, and through my 22-year career, I made a lot of port visits.
BM: Is there one port that stands out as your favorite?
DS: That’s a good question. My first port was down in Jamaica. That was amazing. Been to Singapore on a different ship. Of course, Thailand ranks up there. Once again, it is experiencing the cultures, customs and courtesies, and enjoying the food. I guess between Thailand, Singapore and Jamaica, those three would be my favorites.
BM: Now let’s move on what led to your cancer journey. I am guessing that for the bulk, or all, of your Naval career, you were in pretty good health; but at what point did you notice that something might not be right?
DS: When I retired from the Navy, I went through annual checkups with the Veterans Healthcare System, and they suggested when I turned 50 it would be a good idea to have a colonoscopy. I said sure, no problem. Since I go through these annual checkups, right before I turned 50, we scheduled my colonoscopy, which would be a few months later. We noticed in the previous checkup I had a 14-pound unexpected weight loss. So, my GI doctor and primary care doctor thought it would not only be a good idea to do a colonoscopy, but to do an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, or EGD, to see if there were any underlying issues which would explain why I had lost 14 pounds.
BM: And what were the results of that test?
DS: The results revealed 100 polyps in my colon, rectum and anus. One of those polyps happened to be a large mass creating an 80 percent blockage in my ascending colon. Based on those results, keep in mind I didn’t have any symptoms, no side effects, no family history. I was immediately referred to a certified genetic counselor at Tripler Medical Center in Hawaii and they wanted to do a germline DNA test to rule out a mutation referred to as familial adenomatous polyposis, or FAP. So, I sat down with a certified genetic counselor and colorectal surgeon. We discussed the mutation they thought I had, the type of surgery I would require, which would be to remove my colon, rectum and anus, if the test results confirmed I had the mutation and then also learn about living with a permanent ostomy. So, being the military mindset that I had, I broke it down into three phases. I wanted to read about the mutation, read about type of surgery, then read about life after surgery as an ostomy. The results were not expected back about three weeks. The DNA samples had to sent to a molecular oncology lab in Pasadena, California, because that is the closest lab that could facilitate that sort of test that could determine what sort of mutation I had. In the meantime, I was given resources about the mutation and the type of surgery. It was six weeks later that the results came back, and I was called in to see my genetic counselor and my colorectal surgeon, and they let me know that the results came back that I had a mutation. However, it wasn’t the one they thought I had; it was one that was more rare, which is referred to as an Attenuated FAP. In layman’s terms, the difference is that the Attenuated FAP will have a later onset in life. It is between 50 and 55 years old, the time when one would be diagnosed with Attenuated FAP, that’s the timeline. FAP has an earlier onset. I know individuals that were diagnosed before they were even nine years old.
BM: It sounds like you were approaching this whole situation in kind of a proactive way, obviously in terms of obtaining more intel about it, but once you were confronted with this, did you have an option, Dan? Did you have to be proactive, or could you wait a bit before being proactive?
DS: I learned in my military time, plan for the worst and hope for the best. Now, the results that confirmed the Attenuated FAP, it is in the best practice of medicine to have a total proctocolectomy with an ileostomy surgery because any of those 100 polyps left unattended have a 100 percent chance of developing into colon cancer. So, based on the research that had been conducted in the previous decade by a Dr, Henry T. Lynch, he is the founding father of hereditary cancer research and the doctor who is credited with the discovery of Attenuated FAP. My certified genetic counselor and colorectal surgeon were colleagues of Dr. Lynch at the time. Among other things, he was the director of Preventive Medicine at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He was tracking my journey once he heard I was diagnosed with AFAP.
BM: So, Dan, what was the next step for you?
DS: Since I had already read about the mutation, with the results confirmed, and it was the best practice of medicine to have the surgery, I elected to have the surgery. Now, my surgeon looked at me and said, “Dan, I thought that was what you were going to say. I already booked your surgery for two weeks from today.” So, I went in for the surgery, it was a six-hour procedure. I ended up having a nine-inch incision in my abdominal area midline with 35 staples. Where my anus was, I had 13 staples back there. I was an inpatient for 12 days at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. The day after my surgery, I started my advocacy opportunities and learning how to be an ostomy for the rest of my life. So, I wanted to learn as much as I could. By the way, my mindset throughout this whole process, I tend not to think about things I cannot control. What I can control is my positive attitude and after five decades on God’s Green Earth, why change now? My other mindset was, worrying was the not the cause of my condition, therefore worrying is not going to make it go away, so I should adapt, improvise and overcome.
BM: Okay, but you still had a great deal to overcome and physically your life was altered in a big way. If you would, describe what those alterations were like and what kind of adjustments you had to make.
DS: The alteration was I no longer had a colon, rectum and anus, and I am outfitted with a permanent ostomy. For those not familiar with an ostomy, since I don’t have a colon, rectum, and anus, the end of my small intestine is surgically attached to my abdominal area below my beltline on the right side of my abdominal area and I have prosthetic device which is an ostomy pouching system. Its pouch is required to be emptied numerous times during the day in an appliance that adheres to my abdominal area and that can be replaced every three or four days. Among other things, I need to think about is what type of activities I would be involved with because having an ostomy, there are different types, some that are temporary, some that are permanent. Some were planned and some were performed under emergency circumstances. Mine was planned and I knew exactly what to expect. I just didn’t know how my body was going to feel; however, I was able to mentally prepare myself, so once I became an ostomy, I had to build my endurance back up because a major surgery like that at age 51 years old, that takes a lot out of you, and it wiped me out for several weeks. I was on short term disability for nine weeks before going back to my two fulltime jobs, I went, and still do, go about my life as if nothing happened. It all starts with the mental preparation. I have accepted this from the onset. I did make an acronym for the word ‘adapt,’ since I had to adapt my lifestyle with having a permanent ostomy. My acronym for the word adapt is Attitude Determines the Ability for Positive Transformation, and that’s what I try to do every day.
BM: You know, Dan, I think you have already answered this question, but even if you have, I would still like you to elaborate a bit. We have already heard about your time of service and how it has had influences it had on your service life. What about its influence on your cancer journey?
DS: That’s an excellent question. I have to say military experience has afforded me the opportunity to be where I am at today with a positive attitude. In the military, you have to overcome personal and professional challenges. You have to overcome adversity each step of the way. After 22 years of traveling the world in the Navy, I have overcome a lot of adversity, so it really helped me out so much mentally once I was diagnosed and had the surgery and recovering from the surgery, to keep plugging away. I have a mantra which is, ‘Always Forge Ahead with a Purpose,’ and my mantra is actually a positive spin on the diagnosis of AFAP. You take the first letters of Always Forge Ahead with a Purpose, and it spells out AFAP. It takes a negative and turns it into a positive, so I feel that my military experience has had a major impact on my ability to adapt and improvise and overcome this diagnosis of not only hereditary colon cancer syndrome, but also being a permanent ostomy.
BM: The ostomy piece from all this is not a pleasant piece in this story. Is this something you can maintain yourself or do you have to have some sort of caregiver take care of the ostomy?
DS: I have been self-sufficient from several days after I was in the hospital. My nurse equipped me to be self-sufficient, and I wanted to be self-sufficient, and I enjoy it, I do, and the other thing with ostomy is, we are trying to silence the stigma. There is nothing to be ashamed about to have an ostomy, whether it is permanent or temporary, whether it is planned or an emergency. I like to be an advocate to share my journey to be a source of inspiration for those who hear it or read about it.
BM: We talked about how the military in a direct or indirect way has been a positive presence in your cancer journey, a source of support. Let me ask you about another source of support, an organization known to both of us, although I am guessing you know more about it than I, and that is the Louisville, Kentucky-based Colon Cancer Prevention Project. How has that figured into your cancer journey? If you would, tell us a little about the work it does.
DS: It’s an honor to be able to come alongside and be part of ‘The Project,’ as we call it. It was founded by Dr. Whitney Jones, a GI doctor and we have been collaborating for about the last year. He is very in tune with what I have, and I share my advocacy opportunities with him. I am not just an advocate nationally, I am an advocate internationally as well on both the colon cancer, the rare disease, and ostomy community platforms. So, I have an opportunity to share with him my advocacy opportunities. The main piece that I have with The Project, I am looking to get the fourth week of March designated as Hereditary Colon Cancer Awareness Week. Now there is no legislative jurisdiction for designating such a week, so I have joined with Dr. Jones, and we are going to reach out to hopefully get legislative jurisdiction. Ultimately what I would like to do is have a Senate resolution approved designating the last week of March as HCC Awareness Week and this would be nationally, to include the US territories of Guam, American Samoa and Puerto Rico, so it would be a permanent resolution indefinitely designating the fourth week of March as HCC Awareness Week. Dr. Jones is involved with a lot of other things with The Project, which was founded in 2004, and they are going strong. Even though I am in California, we stay connected through our opportunities, and it is just amazing to have this opportunity because there is very little information out there about hereditary colon cancer syndromes and of the seven syndromes, AFAP is the rarest of them all. Its estimated impact is less 0.03 percent of the global population.
BM: By the way, as far as the Colon Cancer Prevention Project is concerned, it has a very easy web address to remember. It is kickingbutt.org. Remember that, and if you need any sort of information from the Colon Cancer Prevention Project, that’s the place to go: kickingbutt.org. Dan, after we have addressed some unpleasant aspects of your journey, I would like to shift gears and hear about some of the uplifting parts of the journey. That’s because you have still found ways to enjoy life, still have found ways to have fun, despite being on a cancer journey. One of them is your taking a shot at virtual golf. If you would, tell us some more about that.
DS: That was a lot of fun. I am collaborating with numerous individuals and organizations through the years, not only with ostomy, but with colon cancer-related concerns. There was an invitation I received in December 2020 from Martha Raymond. She is the founder of the Raymond Foundation, which is a colon cancer project. We have known each other digitally since 2013. So, I got an invitation from her to be virtually paired with a PGA champion during the Cologuard Classic Golf Tournament in Tucson, Arizona in February 2020. A backstory on this is that Rare Disease Day is the last day of February. The golf tournament took place the 26th through the 28th of February, so how cool was it that since I have a hereditary colon cancer syndrome, it is also a rare disease, and March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. So, it was awesome to be virtually paired, and they paired me with Sacramento native Kevin Sutherland, a PGA champion, and he won the tournament in Tucson. He sent me a ten-second video thanking me that I was paired with him and thanking me for my service. Then he is going to send the ballcap he wore during the final round, with his autograph. He will also send a photo of the tournament’s 81 golfers, each of whom was virtually paired with a colon cancer survivor or caregiver, along a sign saying, “Stand Up 2Cancer,” so that was quite an honor, I had never had anything like that happen before. The tournament was shown on the Golf Channel, so I saw every minute of it. It was so exciting.
BM: Well, he had a good partner. Now let’s talk about another activity you have been in. You have taken part in sort of an open mic activity, which also sounds like a great deal of fun.
DS: There is a San Antonio-based “Curtain Up Cancer Foundation,” and what they do is they take a look at the cancer community, they have workshops every quarter, and you will have four or five or six participants who are caregiver or a cancer survivor, then they set them down with professional writers to write your own story. We do it virtually. I actually attended one of their performances in 2018. They have an annual program called “The Six,” they take six of their participants, and they have a performance with dancers and choreographers and musicians doing a presentation on your behalf. I attended one of these in person, so I kept in communication with them. At these events, the ultimate goal is to have three-to-five-minute presentation in which one would share their cancer journey. They give you some points to think about as you write your story for the presentation. Putting mine together was a lot of fun as I had a lot of life experiences to draw from, and I got to share some interesting and fun things about all I overcame. I look at what I have as a challenge, not as an obstacle. It is just another platform in which to share my journey. I hope sharing my story will make someone want to get a cancer screening, and that they won’t put it off. I try to take a negative and turn it into a positive.
BM: Okay, Dan, we are going to start to wrap things up. I will close with this question even though I know your answer will some of the things you have already covered. But if you had a chance to have a private audience with someone who has been freshly diagnosed with cancer or someone who learned they might be diagnosed, what would you tell them?
DS: The first thing I would say is maintain a positive attitude. Attitude to me means everything. Mood is temporary, attitude is permanent. Maintaining a positive attitude is allowed to overcome adversity. The other thing I look at is the word ‘faith.’ I mean, what is faith? Having hope in something we are not able to see. Here’s an example. You see the tree branches swaying in the breeze. We are unable to see the breeze, however, we see the effect of the breeze. So, faith is having hope in something we are unable to see. I took the word faith, and I broke it down into Full Assurance Influenced Through Hope, so my positive attitude had a direct impact on my strong faith, which an impact on my ability to adapt to life as a permanent ostomy with a cancer syndrome, and I took the word ‘adapt’ as I have said before, Attitude Determines the Ability for Positive Transformation. So, my positive attitude, strong ability to adapt to life as an ostomy, had a direct impact on my purpose, which is to educate the world about my mutation in hopes of continuing the legacy of Dr. Henry T. Lynch and the virtues of early detection. I have a mantra, Always Forge Ahead with a Purpose. I am always forging ahead with a purpose, and that is to be a source of inspiration and encouragement for those who hear my story or read about it, and I hope they can overcome their adversity that they are challenging.
BM: Dan, thanks very much. That has been a tremendous story with some wonderful ingredients, perseverance, faith, positive attitude, being proactive, so many things for somebody to rely on if one day they might be in your position, so, Dan, thanks for being with us.
DS: Thank you, Bruce, for this opportunity.
BM: And that is going to wrap up this segment of Cancer Interviews. We hope that what you heard can aid your cancer journey, or that of a loved one. So, under next time, we will see you down the road.
Support Groups:
Colon Cancer Prevention Project, Louisville, Kentucky
United Ostomy Associations of America
Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse Society
SHOW NOTES
TITLE: Dan “Dry Dock” Shockley, Colorectal Cancer Survivor – Galt, California, USA
A 22-year Navy veteran, Dan “Dry Dock” Shockley is a survivor of a rare form of colorectal cancer.
He appeared to be in good health, but an unexpected loss of 14 pounds got the attention of doctors. Upon further examination, Dan was found to have 100 polyps in colon, rectum and anus, one of which was a large mass that formed an 80 percent blockage in his ascending colon.
Diagnosed with attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis, his best treatment option was ileostomy surgery, resulting in the removal of his colon, rectum and anus. He was fitted with a permanent ostomy bag, which he maintains.
Dan also maintains a positive attitude and leads an active life.
Additional Resources:
Colon Cancer Prevention Project
Louisville, Kentucky
United Ostomy Associations of America
Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse Society
Time Stamps:
07:18 Unexplained weight loss had Dan’s doctors calling for an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGP).
08:23 The procedure revealed 100 polyps in his colon, rectum and anus.
10:15 Diagnosed with attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis, a rare form of colorectal cancer.
11:56 Best treatment option was ileostomy surgery, resulting in the removal of Dan’s colon, rectum and anus.
14:44 Describes the alterations to his physical life.
19:19 He maintains his ostomy bag.
KEYWORDS (tags):
colorectal cancer
esophagogastroduodenoscopy
egd
ascending colon
germline dna test
ileostomy surgery
colonoscopy
familial adenomatous polyposis
total proctocolectomy
ostomy bag
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